Friday, September 9, 2011

RUGBY WORLD CUP: New Zealand hold out Tonga

09.09.2011New Zealand 41, Tonga 10 at Eden Park (World Cup, Pool A)

Briefly
New Zealand built up a very handy 29-3 lead at halftime and it looked as though they would post a huge score. But Tonga jumped into life after halftime and for much of the second half the dominated play and at one point were outscoring the All Blacks.

New Zealand would not have been pleased with their second half. They allowed the Tongans back into the game.

Tonga created a huge roar from the crowd when they scored their pick-and-drive try after a dozen drives. The All Blacks were never going to lose. Once the ball moved along their backline they looked very slick and dangerous.

Tonga can be proud of their effort, especially the second half. The Kiwis will need to do some soul searching if they are going to compete against the other big teams in this competition.